LEWISTON, Maine — Safiya Khalid, a former Lewiston city councilor and former employee of Gateway Community Services, is facing sharp criticism after she used profanity to label Maine Wire reporter Steve Robinson a “neo-Nazi” and “white nationalist,” accusing him and his outlet of targeting Somali-owned and immigrant businesses and intimidating elected officials.
In the remarks on social media, Khalid alleged Robinson’s work is “propaganda,” claimed Somali and immigrant residents are living in fear, and accused the outlet of doxxing publishing identifying information such as names and addresses, while confronting public officials at their homes.
The incendiary rhetoric has poured fuel on an already volatile public fight unfolding alongside state and federal scrutiny of Gateway Community Services, the Portland-based nonprofit whose MaineCare reimbursements were recently suspended by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services following audits and what the department described as a credible allegation of fraud. The payment shutdown followed findings of more than $1 million in overbilling in a newly completed audit, after earlier audits found hundreds of thousands of dollars in overpayments, according to reporting and public records described by the outlet and other news organizations.
Robinson and The Maine Wire have published a series of investigations centered on alleged MaineCare billing irregularities and oversight failures tied to Gateway and related entities, reporting that the state’s suspension triggers a referral to the attorney general’s office for potential investigation.
Khalid’s comments drew condemnation online from critics who said branding a named journalist a neo-Nazi, a label associated with extremist violence, is dangerous and irresponsible, particularly while tensions are high around immigration politics and the handling of public funds. They argue that investigations into alleged fraud and government accountability are not inherently about race or national origin, and that public officials and organizers should not demonize reporters for aggressive coverage.
The dispute follows a December rally in Lewiston that Khalid helped organize, where a Maine Wire reporter said he was asked to leave specifically because he was with The Maine Wire.
The broader Gateway controversy has drawn expanding attention beyond Maine. A recent report detailed how concerns about interpreter and MaineCare billing practices have circulated for years and noted that Gateway has denied wrongdoing as the state’s inquiries move forward.
Robinson, The Maine Wire’s editor in chief, was named a 2025 Dao Prize winner for Best Multimedia Reporting, alongside Graham Pollard, for their print-and-video investigative series about Chinese organized crime’s infiltration of rural America/Maine’s cannabis market. The Dao Prize is awarded by the Dao Feng & Angela Foundation in partnership with the National Journalism Center at Young America’s Foundation.
